• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 1998.03a
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• pp.179-184
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• 1998

Semi-solid forging can be applied in industry only with enough knowledge of the effects of the forming parameters related with the process and their exact control which can be obtained by empirical or numerical methods. In the current study, the effects of process variables on semi-solid forging are discussed based on mainly numerical results. Die preheating temperature, initial solid fraction of the workpiece, and die velocity were selected as process variables, and numerical analyses using a rigid-thermoviscoplastic finite element approach that considered the release of latent heat due to phase change were carried out. In the analyses, a proposed flow stress material characterization and a solid fraction updating algorithm were employed. The obtained results from numerical analysis are discussed and are compared with some experimental observations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.56-62
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• 2000

Semi-solid forming process has some advantages such as successful manufacturing of high quality components with less inner defects suitable for less machining high productivity and energy-saving effect. the thixotropic behavior(solid-like in the unperturbed state and liquid-like during shearing) has been the basis for the semi-solid forming process. The main focus of this article is the investigation of the effect of T6 heat treatment and alloying elements on the mechanical properties in the semi-solid formed products using thixotropic hypoeutectic (A357 and ALTHIX 86S) and hypereutectic(A390) materials. The new methods to produce semi-solid formed components with high quality are also proposed and discussed in terms of a die design and the development of a lubricant.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.58-65
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• 2003

The conventional forming process such as squeeze casting or die casting for fabricating metal matrix composites products have a disadvantage such as non homogenous distribution of reinforcement, weak bonding between matrix and reinforcement and cost increase in parts fabrication. Thixoforming process has been accepted as a new method for fabricating the net shaped metal matrix composites with lightweight and wear resistance. In this paper, the effect of volume fraction and reinforcement sizes on mechanical properties in cylinder liner part of metal matrix composites has been investigated with processes parameters such as pressure and velocity. Moreover, the methods to obtain the thixoforged composites cylinder liner with high quality has been proposed. To evaluate the composites cylinder linear fabricated at the conditions proposed in this study, mechanical properties of fabricated composites cylinder linear were compared with those of commercial composites cylinder linear.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.312-322
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• 2002

In this study, an innovative semi-solid die casting technology to replace heavier cast iron compressor parts with lightweight aluminum castings was proposed, and the application possibility for home-appliance component was investigated. The most important factors regarding the semi-solid die casting process are the reheating process of the raw materials to the semi-solid state, specifications of the forming machine, the optimal injection conditions and die design. Materials used in this study were A3S7 and hSn alloys fabricated by the electromagnetic stirring process. The optimal injection conditions for semi-solid die casting process were Presented with the reheating conditions of the semi-solid materials. To investigate the effect of plunger tip shape on the formability and mechanical properties in semi-solid die casting process for complicated shape part, two kinds of plunger tip shape with long and short plunger tip taper are proposed.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.214-222
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• 2001

The homogeneous distribution of solid region without liquid segregation is important in terms of high quality component during thixoforming process. In closed die semi-solid forging process, liquid segregation is strongly affected by injection velocity than solid fraction because the material has to travel relatively long distance to fill the cavity through a narrow gate. The designed die by computer simulation data was used to thixoforging process. The thixoforming velocity to prediction the liquid segregation had been determined with strain rate associated with multistage velocity control during compression test of semi-solid material. The optimal forging velocity and die temperature were investigated to produce the near-net-shape compressor component. The mechanical properties of thixoformed component were tested with various die and material temperatures before and after heat treatment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 1999.03b
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• pp.195-198
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• 1999

For the thixoforming process beside an existing solidus-liquidus interval, the reheating conditions to obtain the globular microstructure are very important. It relies on the control of globular microstructure of semi-solid alloys that contain non-dendritic particles. To obtain the globular microstructure in cross section of billet, the optimal design of the induction coil is necessary. Therefore, in this paper the optimal coil design to minimize electromagnetic end effect will be proposed. The results of coil design were also applied to the reheating process to obtain a fine globular microstructure. Finally, reheating data base of aluminum alloys for thixoforming and FEM model for induction heating based on the optimal coil design have been proposed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.15-32
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• 1999

A relationship between stress and stain is very important to design a die to avoid defects of products during semi-solid forming process. Since the liquid will be of eutectic composition in alloys liquid segregation will result in significant or undesirable situation. The materials used in this experiment are A 357. A390, Al2024 alloys that is fabricated by the electro-magnetic stirring process from Pechiney in France. The compression test was performed by induction heating equipment and MTS. In order to prevent the liquid segregation these measured temperature would be useful to control of strain rate during compression test. The liquid segregation is controlled as change of the strain rate and solid fraction during the compression process, The characteristics of flow between solid and liquid phase considering liquid segregation is examined through the above experiments. In the case of medium and high volume fractions of solid the distribution of strain rate is calculated by using compression test data of semi-solid materials (SSM). The thixoforming experiments with the designed die are carried out successfully. The die filling patterns of SSM for variation of die temperature and pressing force have been investigated. The hardness of the thixoformed scroll products is evaluated in terms of the microstructure for each position.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.44-55
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• 2001

The flow behavior of semi-solid materials (SSM) is required to assist the industrial application of thixoforming technology. Particularly, to reduce many lead times, many numerical analysis packages have been developed to simulate required metal forming processes. The objectives of the development of SEMI-FORM for thixoforming process design are to predict the effect of various process variables such as pressing force, die temperature, and die velocity. However, there have not been any reports which adapt these packages to the specific characteristics of SSM. SO, this paper presents an overview of the development of thixoforming simulator of SEMI-FORM. The solver and post-processor of SEMI-FORM S/W for an automated thixoforming process design with arbitrarily shaped die are composed of FORTRAN Power Station 4.0 and Visual Basic 5.0, respectively. This developing SEMI-FORM S/W would be very useful for thixoforming practitioners and engineers to select the optimal process conditions to produce automotive parts with high quality.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.581-593
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• 1990

A semi-solid alloy in which solid and liquid phase are co-existing is obtained by strirring of Al7075 molten metal. A semi-solid alloy is dependent on the corresponding temperature within the solid-liquid range, and the process parameters should be controlled accurately to obtain the homogeneous semi-solid alloy. The possibility o homogeneous fiber-reinforce aluminum alloy by addition of $Al_{2}$O$_{3}$ short fibers with vigorous agitation was investigated. The billet of composite materials was fabricated by squeeze casting, and homogeneous dipersion state of fibers in billet of fabricated metal matrix composites was observed. A slurry of semi-solid short fiber metal matrix composites is used in the direct rolling process, and this process showed the fabrication possibility of metal matrix composite sheets. The fabricated sheet was tested regarding vickers hardness, elongation and micro-structure. It has become clear that mashy state processing and working are very useful to obtain parts of composites material closed to near net shape.